Anne Beatts, iconic comedy writer and one of the original staff
of renowned US late-night show Saturday Night Live, died on Wednesday aged 74
in her West Hollywood residence in California, as per a report by NBC, which
could not confirm the exact cause of her death. In a tweet, another SNL cast
member Laraine Newman confirmed the news of Beatts’ passing.

Starting in 1975, Beatts was one of the original group of
writers for Saturday Night Live, alongside other notable names such as Rosie
Shuster, Alan Zweibel, and Marilyn Suzanne Milner.

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Having received two Emmy awards, Beatts created several characters
in SNL with her co-creator Shuster, such as Lisa Loopner, Todd DiLaMuca, Irwin
Mainway, Fred Garvin and Uncle Roy. The popular catchphrase “That’s so funny I
forgot to laugh”, was in fact Loopner’s trademark character trait.

She also created ‘Square Pegs’, a high school series set
reportedly based on Beatts’ own experience as an outsider in high school.

“If you look looked at the nerds, she knew that world. She
and Rosie handled those characters with love. She knew that world. If you look
at ‘Square Pegs,’ the title alone speaks volumes”, NBC quoted Alan Zweibel as
saying regarding Beatts’ creative ventures.

Having premiered in 1982, ‘Square Pegs’ portrayed Sarah
Jessica Parker as a first-year high school student trying to fit into the
environment.

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Originally belonging to Buffalo, New York, she moved eventually
further downstate to Somers, joining National Lampoon Magazine after completing
her studies in McGill University. Beatts eventually joined Saturday Night Live after
reportedly quitting the magazine in mid 1970s due to workplace-related issues.

At the time of death, Beatts was a lecturer at Chapman
University’s Lawrence and Kristina Dodge School of Film and Media Arts

She is survived by her daughter Jaylene Beatts, as well as
her sister Barbara Resucha, brother Murray, and nieces Kate and Jennifer
Dreger.